The Finnish Outokumpu will invest around €40 million in a plant for producing biocarbon, some 15 thousand tonnes per year, in the Mukran Port.
The factory, slated for commissioning in H1 2026, will use secondary wood raw materials as feedstock. The end product, a fine granulate that looks like black sand, will be shipped to the Port of Tornio for further processing into biocoke pellets (with the pelletising plant ready in mid-2025). These, in turn, will be used by Outokumpu to replace coal and other fossil energy sources in various stages of stainless steel production (with biocoke specifically used as a reductant in ferrochrome smelting).
The waste heat generated by the plant will be fed into the district heating network on the island of Rügen.
The Finnish company says that approximately 50% of its direct emissions could be reduced by replacing fossil coke with biocoke.
"Outokumpu's decision in favour of Mukran is the result of an intensive process. It shows how attractive our port is for companies that rely on multimodal transport chains. The planned delivery of raw materials by rail and shipment of the end product by ship will strengthen the site's logistics diversity. With Outokumpu, we are not only gaining a world-leading company in its sector but also increasing the attractiveness for other potential industrial customers and supporting the transformation of the location with regard to new energy sources," highlighted Fridjof Ostenberg, Mukran Port's Managing Director.
Outokumpu's Chief Technology Officer, Stefan Erdmann, added, "Mukran Port convinced us with its combination of existing industrial space, modern infrastructure, and excellent hinterland connections. The short sea routes to Finland also enable efficient and more environmentally friendly logistics. We look forward to further developing this location together."
He also shared, "We are proud that our stainless steel has the lowest carbon footprint in the industry [1.52kg CO2e per kg of stainless steel in 2023], and we are progressing steadily towards our target to reduce our emission intensity across our direct, indirect and supply chain emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2016 base year. Currently, biocoke represents the best available technology to decrease our direct emissions and we are investigating also other innovations as well as the use of carbon capture technology to achieve further reductions."
"Biomass-based raw materials offer exciting possibilities for Outokumpu to cut direct emissions. I'm proud of our team's innovative thinking in developing an industrial concept that ensures technical readiness and financial viability for the new investment, driving progress in the green transition today. We want to take an active role in developing the biocoke market, which will give us scale-up and new business opportunities also going forward," underlined Timo Huhtala, General Manager at Outokumpu EvoCarbon.
Photo: Mukran Port